When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
